Hawks look to rebound tonight

CORNING – There will be a varsity football game played at Memorial Stadium tonight.

That may force many folks to do a double-check of their calendars, but yes, the Corning Hawks will take the field on a Thursday evening for the first time in, well, we’re not sure when a varsity game was played on a Thursday – but it’s happening tonight at 7 p.m. when Vestal comes to town.

"The reason we’re doing this is by the request of Vestal," Corning head coach Tim Hughes said. "Yom Kippur is this weekend and they asked if we could play the game on either Thursday night or Monday. We opted for Thursday.

"It’s kind of neat – Thursday night football."

Coming off a 20-13 Week 1 loss to Owego less than a week ago, the short week of practice couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Hawks lost eight fumbles and had one interception for a total of nine turnovers against the Indians.

Making the short week even more difficult was the fact that Wednesday’s practice was held inside the West High small gym due to afternoon thunder storms.

"It never helps when Mother Nature does not cooperate," Hughes said. "Because of the heat index earlier in the day, even without the rain, we wouldn’t have been able to have practice with full pads.

"It is what it is. We’re not going to slow down. We’re still going to get our job done. We’ve just had to learn to be more flexible."

Job 1 for the Hawks this week was finding a way to stop putting the football on the turf. While Corning lost eight fumbles, the ball got loose a dozen times against Owego.

"Our focus has been an attention to detail," Hughes said. "That phrase is pretty broad, but you can break it down in many ways.

"Holding onto the football, catching the ball correctly, tucking the ball before you look upfield, securing the ball absolutely in traffic, having a fullback carry the ball with two hands at all time, getting the correct exchange from the center if you are the quarterback, applying pressure where pressure is needed. That sort of thing."

Hughes admitted that the team’s opener stung a bit.

"We weren’t happy – as a coaching staff, as a team," Hughes said. "I think the players were absolutely upset and they had the right to be so – we all did. But the fact of the matter is – it’s on us. It’s on us as a team."

Page 2 of 2 - Tonight’s game can put the Hawks’ season back on the right track.

"What’s exciting is that we get a chance to come back and try to rebound off that loss. We’re trying to take that loss and use it as a lesson," Hughes said. "We have to find the positives that happened in that game and try to build off of them and at the same time correct the mistakes that we made.

"I think the team will respond to the short week. It was awfully hard in terms of preparation, but we’ll see (tonight)."

Vestal is coming off a 46-9 win over Norwich in its season opener.

According to Hughes, the Golden Bears have a dynamic offense and a physical defense.

"They’re a very good football team," Hughes said. "What jumps out at you is the speed they have. They run a high-tempo, no-huddle offense and they have a very solid quarterback that can run, throw the ball a mile and is very accurate. It will be a great challenge, but we’re looking forward to it."

Hughes believes his team is up for the challenge.

"I think they’ll respond to the short week. It was awfully hard in terms of preparation, but we’ll see Thursday," Hughes said. "Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night – I don’t think it matters. I think the kids just want to play. I’m hoping that we’ll show up ready to go and this time bring the Hawks brand of football."